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Casted's BF Mage Camping Guide
Introduction Welcome to Casted's BF Camping Guide, a detailed guide dedicated to providing tips for all mage campers to gain an edge over the uninformed. You may have run into me on one of my accounts on Wadangka Siras, Casted, CastMe, Casts, xTmanx, and a few more on Bigmama Siras which were lost before the drastic change to the battlefield. I'm currently no longer a camper, though I have experience with all stages of BF as a mage. Not only is Magician a fun class to play, but it's also considered the most difficult and by far the most complex. There's an ocean of potential and most players have only seen the surface. Some variations may be exclusive to certain levels and each has an exclusive playstyle associated with it. Even so, some traits will remain useful throughout all levels including those beyond the four camping ones, therefore I recommend reading the entire guide even if only one of the sections are applicable. I have mentored a few campers, most notably xX0PXx from Wadangka Siras, a BF1 camper with Flame Shock 4. Note: This guide was created before the recent BF update, dividing BF into 7 different tiers. I have no experience with BF5 (the new one), nor do I have any with BF7. I do not consider BFs 5-7 camping tiers, as these are levels where most players leave their mains at. Furthermore, I cannot comment on camping strategies, if any, present in BFs 5-7, as the people of my server, Wadangka, refuse to fight properly in these tiers. BF1 I have the most respect for the mage campers in bf1. As I myself described it, "playing mage in BF1 is hell". Please don't be discouraged, however, for it's no more than my own opinion. BF1 Mage is as simple as it gets: you have only 2 reliable damage spells (poison is out of the question), two freeze spells, your one and only heal, a single shield, and a teleport. Mages aren't the only class that's simple here; image:Warrior-Class.pngWarriors and image:Ranger-Class.pngRangers are also relatively simple. The most common strategy here is to have the Warrior run to the opposing side and kill the egg as soon as possible. Rangers who are much more capable of killing mages or each other will be unable to damage the warrior fast enough, since the warrior's armor and dexterity will reduce damage taken (lower hits, more misses). This is where you, the mage, shine. While your damage output isn't as consistent, your bursts of magic damage will be very effective against the warrior despite his/her Magic Resist and Fire Resist. When the opponent decides to rush the egg, deal with the warriors and then move on. The other strategy, which is preferred if both sides have enough people, is to go as a group to the opposing side. This way, you can clear small threats fast and eliminate the egg as soon as possible and then you can move back on to the defensive. Usually, you would stay at the back. Your main job is to heal, however, you can also attack those with high armor, for you won't miss and your damage is still very high. Depending on your skill build, you might play a bit more or less aggressively, but your main roles remain the same. Remember, while the best defense is offense, you should still heal those in need! = Stat Builds = The performance of a camper relies on stats just as much as equips and skills, especially at lower levels with low amounts of funds. There are two builds available, each with their pros and cons (no pun intended). The three main builds I will be discussing here are: 1. Int/Con This build is preferred by most campers, though I personally dislike it. You max out your base INT at 18, and invest the remaining stats in CON. Pros: * More HP, therefore more survivability * Slightly increased HP regen (HPr for the purpose of this guide), which albeit negligible, can reduce the need to heal yourself Cons: * Abysmal MP, thus less spells can be used each fight * Lower MP regen (MPr for the purpose of this guide), thus increasing the amount of MP recovery items spent (i.e. potions and juices) Ideally, this build implies that the player focuses more on a supporting role, investing more in Light Healing, Shield, Freezing Trap, and maybe even Ice Prison. For offensive spells, the player would likely rely solely on Flame Shock, as Firebolt takes too much MP to use consistently. This build relies on a quick skirmish, where hopefully the enemy team is taken out before your MP is depleted entirely, though you could use a mana potion as a buffer for this problem. Regardless of whether the skirmish is over, you are out of the fight the moment your MP is depleted (I'll refer to this as OOM). This applies to all variants in this BF. The moment your MP hits a single digit, run out of the fight to a safe location and use juice to recover your MP ASAP. The sooner you return to the fight, the better. I do not recommend this build, especially for BF1; you will be at a significant disadvantage in prolonged fights, which are extremely common in this BF. 2. Int/Wis This build is more traditional, and my personal favorite. You max out both INT and WIS to 18 with no points remaining. Pros: * Significantly more MP than other variants, therefore you can remain in fights longer * Slightly higher MP regen, delaying OOM; most effective in prolonged fights Cons: * Low HP, easily killed; investing in HP from equips can potentially solve this * Slightly lower HP regen; the difference is negligible, though there's more of a need to heal yourself This is by far the most versatile build. The player has the freedom to either play supportive or offensive, and can easily make use of any viable skill build. A supportive build with these stats will have virtually infinite MP in fights, though you are more prone to death with this build as well. An offensive build is preferred, as you can eliminate threats sooner than they can eliminate you. With this build, you try to never be targeted, for it would almost guarantee death. In the rare case that your HP begins to drop, you must run IMMEDIATELY. Mages are notorious for having the lowest HP in the game, and this build has the lowest of them all. Once you're safe, recover HP through Light Healing, or MP with juice if your MP is below half. Depending on how likely the enemy may close in on you, you may prioritize your HP over MP. Do NOT use any HP recovery items for the sake of HP alone, unless it would save you from instant death. 3. Int/Mix There's a variety of stat distributions for these builds, as it involves any build with a mixture of CON and WIS investments, though it will still involve maxing INT at 18. Pros and Cons of this build vary depending on the amount of points invested in each stat. The Pros and Cons are similar to those mentioned above, but their severity depends once again on stat investment. Refer to the information above and craft your custom playstyle accordingly. There are potential builds that involve reducing the investment in INT, which I personally dislike. In some cases, this might prove effective, as it may offer more sustain in fights, both in HP and MP. Even so, the lack of INT can sometimes become noticeable, therefore I strongly advise you to have no less than 16 points in base INT. = Skill Builds = There are many different variants of skill builds that are usable. The ones I will provide may serve as mere templates, which you can customize according to your playstyle. 1. Offensive (Glass Cannon) Total SP: 10 Flame Shock: 3-4 (Ideally 4, but stick to 3 if your budget is limited) Freezing Trap: 0-1 Light Healing: 2-3 Shield: 0-1 (Generally at 0) Firebolt: 1-2 Teleport: 1 As the name implies, this build focuses mainly on eliminating opposing threats. Skills like Light Healing, and Shield serve mainly to sustain yourself (sorry warriors of BF1, but you aren't our priority), though in some cases it can be used to protect allies. The playstyle is relatively simple: you target the most threatening enemy, and nuke them with a Flame Shock -> Firebolt combo (Chain-casting). When timed right, it will appear as if Firebolt were cast instantaneously, giving the opponent no time to react. This devastating combo usually takes about 40-50% of a ranger's HP, and around 30-40% of that of a warrior. When paired with a lucky Critical, or Deadly, it could easily spell death for your enemies. Freezing Trap can occasionally be used to prevent enemies from escaping, particularly their own mages, for they could recover quickly and return to the fight. It can also be used on threats to prevent them from chasing you, as you escape to recover. Teleport is a versatile spell that can be used either to escape danger or to close in on enemies. As it will break Freezing Trap, try to save it for dire situations, though its cooldown isn't too long (15s), allowing it to be occasionally used for mobility. Shield is highly situational, but not so much as to be considered useless (unlike many other spells). As you do not have enough points to max it, it will hardly be used for sustain on its own (Blocks 10 damage). Its quick-cast properties allow it to be cast in conjunction with Light Healing (chain-casting, often mistakenly identified as double-cast), which then enables spam healing. Spam healing, as the name implies, involves using a spell that requires no target (other than yourself, depending on the spell), then continuously using Light Healing to rapidly recover HP. This will further improve your fighting capabilities, as you no longer fear dying to rapid-fire, low damage attacks (i.e. rangers), but instead, the deadly instant death combo from a mage. Spam healing, like chain-casting, is very difficult to consistently perform, so do not rely solely on it. The other use of Shield is to block stuns, like a warrior's Wild Charge, or a ranger's Impact Shot. Once again, this is difficult to achieve in practice, as you need to predict with utmost accuracy the exact timing of the enemy's skill. 2. Full Support Total SP: 10 Flame Shock: 1-4 (Once again, be mindful of your budget. Reserve your SP for other skills if you don't need the damage) Freezing Trap: 1-3 (Usually 2-3 are excessive) Light Healing: 2-3 Shield: 3 Ice Prison: 1-2 (Once again, 2 is excessive) Teleport: 1 This build is perhaps the antithesis of the build above. Instead of eliminating threats, this build seeks to preserve the threats within the allied team, while also posing as a minor threat itself. Before entering fights, make sure to apply Shield to everyone who doesn't have a better shield applied (DS - double shield - applied before BF included). A well-timed Shield can block a stun, which may save your teammate, or simply prevent them from wasting time immobilized in fights. Your role in a fight is primarily to protect the strongest members of your team, but ideally you want to mitigate as much damage as possible. Spam healing is crucial to maximizing your odds at success. Once the enemy threats are eliminated, or if any warriors remain, use Flame Shock alongside your basic attack (try to chain-cast) to attack the warriors or the enemy egg. You may want to use either Freezing Trap or Ice Prison to immobilize enemy threats (mainly rangers), or to prevent enemies from simply rushing your egg. Once again, Teleport can be used either to escape danger or to get within range of your target, be they an enemy or an ally. Regardless of stats, you will most likely want to be the furthest members of the team from the enemy. you have no need to be anywhere near the enemy, as your primary role is to mitigate damage for allies. In some cases, you may want to be within range to throw in a couple attacks or a freeze, but you never want to actively be in a position where you can be attacked. Most enemies will see you as the main threat (unless they're focusing the tanks, where they aren't playing very well), and some will even attempt to ambush you from behind. Like any other mage, prioritize your own safety, then save your allies. In the rare case where you have no legitimate tank, if you went with a CON build, or if you happen to be the tankiest member of the team, it is then your role to be the frontline. Good luck, as you'll need it. 3. Multi-Purpose (Jack of All Trades) Total SP: 10 Flame Shock: 1-2 Freezing Trap: 0-1 Light Healing: 2-3 Shield: 3 Firebolt: 2 Teleport: 1 This build is my personal build, which I have used for most of my time in BF1. I may be a bit biased towards it, but it's a great build for those on a tight budget while having just as much potential, if not, more than the specialized builds. This build allows the user to make use of all of the tips mentioned above (chain-casting, spam healing, etc.). Your role is akin to that of a midfielder: you serve as both an offensive and defensive player, while not overly investing in either role. Your potent healing and shielding provide you the bulk of a support, though it's not quite as bulky as any legitimate tank, it will provide you some extra defenses in combat. You are able to help mitigate damage wherever necessary, while packing a punch with offensive spells. Your damage will be slightly lower than that of a pure offensive build, but it will be relevant enough to eliminate threats in 1-2 combos. To fully utilize this build, you must balance your attacking with protecting allies. Most importantly, you must manage your MP, as it will deplete faster than any other build. It is nigh impossible to properly use this build with anything other than the INT/WIS stat build for this reason. = Final Remarks and Notes = Overall, BF1 is a slow-paced battle. Mages will hurt, but your kill potential relies on luck more than anything else. As an attacker, you tend to be most effective on warriors, though you want to eliminate the mages and rangers before attacking warriors like any other BF. Heal and shield are especially effective here, as damage outputs are incredulously low. Regardless of your build, you will always find yourself healing a target. Even offensive builds may find themselves healing an ally if they know what they're doing. Despite the low skill-cap in terms of mechanics, chain-casting and spam healing are difficult to pull off nonetheless. Only once you've mastered all of the above can you perhaps be considered a master of BF1. BF2 This is the BF where mage starts to get interesting. You are presented with three new spells, as well as more room for diversity in builds. Even the least of the spells, Mana Feed, often regarded as useless can sometimes be a valuable asset. While Rangers are given some extra utility, i.e. more crit, Warriors receive their main attacking skill, Slam, as well as an amazing crit buff: Rage. As both of these classes retain the 3 crystals they had in BF1, their burst damage will still be limited. The strategy where Warriors rush the opposing egg is almost never used in this BF, therefore you can expect more skirmishes. Since mages finally gain access to their one and only MP sustain skill, Carnivalize, you will be much less likely to eliminate yourself from fights by spending too much MP, and it makes the BF a lot less like the excruciating BF1 experience. = Stat Builds = Stat builds remain the same here, though they will have different effects. The INT/CON build will no longer tax your MP sustain as heavily as it did in BF1; however, as Carnivalize recovers MP based on %max MP, you will still occasionally go OOM, which will eliminate you from the fight. I'd advise you to be more conservative with MP, and perhaps even use a more supportive build. INT/WIS is still the build I personally prefer, as albeit less effective, MPr can further improve sustain in fights. MPr will also be greater in BF2, to match the level of players. The extra MP to be gained is evident, as is extra HP from the INT/CON build. This further improves sustain in fights, and it may enable the mage to become a secondary DPS. INT/Mix builds are more usable than they were in BF1, as you have more varied skill builds and more nuanced playstyles. There is less need for building towards the two extremes, i.e. glass cannons and bulky supports. The builds that don't involve maxing INT are no longer optimal, as INT is now the stat that MUST be prioritized. = Skill Builds = The skills that can reach stage 4 are generally expensive, thus most player likely won't have it even as a camper. Flare 2 is also notably expensive, though not nearly as much as any stage 4 skill, therefore you can expect most campers to have it available. Due to a newfound abundance in SP, Shield is now essential in any mage build. There is more overlap between the Offensive and Supportive builds in this BF, and the Multi-purpose build no longer exists, as the "specialized" builds are no longer as exclusive to their roles. 1. Offensive Total SP: 17 Flame Shock: 1-4 Freezing Trap: 0-1 Light Healing: 2-3 Shield: 3-4 Firebolt: 3 Teleport: 1 Flare: 1-3 (Ideally at 3) Carnivalize: 2-3 (Ideally at 3) The offensive build here is no longer the glass cannon it was in the previous BF. Furthermore, it provides a lot more versatility for distributing SP. Investing skill points in Flame Shock isn't nearly as important as it was in the previous BF, as the slight boost to your damage isn't worth the 3 SP. Both Firebolt and Flare, when maxed, will deal more damage than a maxed Flame Shock at the cost of more MP but less investment in SP. Even so, you shouldn't entirely remove Flame Shock, as even a single point in it will allow a significant increase in damage for each combo. Chain-casting is far more relevant in this BF, as you have two quick-cast spells to chain into Firebolt or a basic attack. While there are many different ways to chain-cast, the usual combo would be Flare -> Firebolt -> Flame Shock -> basic attack. This allows you to have the higher cooldown spells to trigger first and prepare your next combo sooner. Freezing Trap once again allows you to lock down targets, either to escape from them or to prevent them from escaping. Predicting attacks with Shield is still important, though you will most likely be using it to block a warrior's Slam, as it will be the most common source of stun in this BF. This, of course, implies that the need to have shielded allies is greater than it was before. Spam healing is now a tool for all builds to use, and this build now allows you to support allies with it more than it did before. Your playstyle with this build resembles that of a ranger. You nuke enemy threats with high damage combos, while escaping the fight with Teleport, should you be targeted. You also have the additional responsibility of keeping allies alive, so be sure to keep track of allies' HP and heal them accordingly. 2. Supportive Total SP: 17 Flame Shock: 1 Freezing Trap: 0-3 Light Healing: 3 Shield: 3-4 Firebolt: 1-3 Teleport: 1 Mana Feed: 0-1 Flare: 1-3 Carnivalize: 2-3 (Ideally at 3) As you can see, this build closely resembles the Offensive build. This is due to the abundance of SP, allowing both builds to have a versatile playstyle where you can play both as a support and an attacker. Even so, this build specializes in supporting allies and it usually deals significantly less damage. Chain-casting is once again your main source of damage, and spam healing is your greatest supporting tool. Though I haven't personally tested this, Mana Feed can likely be used similarly to spam heal to restore the MP of allied mages rapidly. Your playstyle with this build resembles that of the BF1 support. You will be less capable of tanking damage, yet you will be more often closer to the frontline, as you will occasionally need to deal some damage. Mana Feed is unpopular to the point where almost no camper bothers to use it, but when used correctly, it can enable allied mages to deal even more consistent damage. In this BF, you will be treated as an equal threat as any other mage, since both builds have equal supporting capabilities, but you still need to take caution. As you cannot sustain much damage, it would be best to escape when targeted. = Final Remarks and Notes = While BF2 has a much faster pace than BF1, it's still relatively slow and players rely on lucky crits and deadlies to score a kill on an opponent with equal equipment quality. Even so, you do not want to be tanking damage as a mage. Healing and shielding are still relevant; they will always be relevant. Though they have less of an impact here than they did in BF1, there will be more of it and they can still determine the outcome of a fight. You still prioritize your own safety as you would in BF1; you will always be the ones that the enemies want to focus, and their damage outputs are higher here. Even so, try to remain in the fight as long as possible to ensure victory. BF3 Under Construction BF4 Under Construction Misc Under ConstructionCategory:Guide Category:Guides Category:Magician Category:Magician Skills Category:Guide:Magician